Jeremiah 14:2

2 "The nation of Judah cries as if someone has died, and her cities are very sad. They are distressed over the land. A cry goes up to God from Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 14:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 14:2

Judah mourneth
That is, the inhabitants of Judah; those of the house of Judah, as the Targum; these mourned because of the drought and famine that were upon the land: and the gates thereof languish;
the cities of Judah, as the Targum; the inhabitants of them, which used to be supplied from the field, and out of the country; gates may be mentioned, because through the gates the provisions were brought into the city; but now none; and therefore are said to languish; or else those that sat in the gates are meant, the elders of the people, the senators, the judges, and civil magistrates; these shared in the common calamity: they are black unto the ground;
that is, the inhabitants of the cities, and those that sit in the gates, their faces are black through famine; see ( Lamentations 4:8 ) ( 5:10 ) , so the Targum,

``their faces are covered with blackness, they are black as a pot;''

and which they turned to the ground, and looked downwards, not being able to lift them up through the sorrow and distress they were in, and through faintness of spirit for want of food: and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up:
meaning the cry and lamentation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem because of the famine, for that city was not exempted from it, it having its supply from the country; or the prayer of them, and of the people from all parts got together there, which went up to heaven for rain: it being usual, in times of common distress, for the people in the country to come up to Jerusalem to the temple to pray to God, and particularly for rain, when there was a want of it.

Jeremiah 14:2 In-Context

1 These are the words that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the time when there was no rain:

2 "The nation of Judah cries as if someone has died, and her cities are very sad. They are distressed over the land. A cry goes up to God from Jerusalem.

3 The important men send their servants to get water. They go to the wells, but they find no water. So they return with empty jars. They are ashamed and embarrassed and cover their heads in shame.

4 The ground is dry and cracked open, because no rain falls on the land. The farmers are upset and sad, so they cover their heads in shame.

5 Even the mother deer in the field leaves her newborn fawn to die, because there is no grass.